Read the full article which is published on Philosophy Bits (external link)We want to be treated well by others. We feel we deserve to be treated well and that others should be obliged to treat us this way. We don’t care what they might think about us, as long as they always fulfill this basic obligation.
We obligate others through social pressure, through appeals to rights, and through the application of laws. While we are also obligated in the same way, we see the trade-off as worthwhile, since we generally have no problem with treating others well. After all, the obligation is not usually binding. We see others as similar to ourselves, so we automatically treat them well out of compassion and not because of any obligation.
But a problem arises when we encounter someone for whom we do not feel compassion. Now we are obligated to act in way that goes again our intuitive sense of right and wrong. We are forced to treat this person well when we do not believe they deserve it. Having to do this repeatedly can lead to resentment.
Poststructuralism as a Regime of Truth: Foucault and the Paradox of Philosophical Authority
Foucault’s critique of power and knowledge shaped poststructuralism, yet its rejection of truth risks becoming its own orthodoxy. To remain...
